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Another 10-cent price rollback
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Posted on Dec 09 2022
With the holidays right around the corner, people on Saipan were surprised with yet another rollback in fuel prices yesterday, with oil companies dropping prices by 10 cents.
The year 2022 is shaping up to be a relatively good year in terms of gas prices with fuel prices lower than ever compared to the previous years when CNMI consumers were slapped with back-to-back fuel hikes.
As of yesterday, Mobil Oil Marianas now charges 10-cents less for all their fuel. Shell Marianas is expected to follow suit today.
With this rollback, Mobil now charges $4.96 per gallon of its Extra Fuel from $5.06. Supreme Fuel also saw a rollback from $5.51 per gallon to $5.41 while diesel saw a bigger drop from $6.28 to $6.08 per gallon.
According to a 28-year-old woman who requested anonymity, it’s looking like this year will close off with low gas prices compared to the previous ones.
“I remember when we were just getting out of the pandemic and the international conflict began, fuel was extremely expensive. I think we hit the $7 mark and we saw increases almost every week. Now, seeing prices at $4, I can’t help but think that this year is going to end at $4,” she said.
Another motorist said that it’s refreshing to see fuel prices back at $4.
“Gas was crazy expensive last year, and it was even worse for our neighboring islands of Tinian and Rota. I remember when I couldn’t make $20 last a week because of how expensive it had gotten. Now, at $4, this is refreshing. Better gas now,” he said.
Meanwhile, a 36-year-old government employee hopes that utility prices will follow suit.
“Now if only [the Commonwealth Utilities Corpo.] would follow the trend and lower their charges. They didn’t hesitate to increase what they charged us when gas went up. Now that the price for fuel has dropped exponentially, they are hesitant to drop it. I just hope they follow the trend,” she said.
For months, the CNMI saw a string of rollbacks, but that streak was broken last Oct. 11 with a 10-cent increase when oil companies raised prices from $5.16 to $5.26 per gallon of regular fuel.
